两关节压力驱动柔性仿生机器鱼的设计与仿真

为研究设计一种柔软度高、环境适应性强的新型仿生机器鱼,模仿鲨鱼外形及鲔科鱼类的游动姿态,设计了一种采用液压柔性驱动结构的仿生机器鱼.针对单关节液压驱动柔性机器鱼存在其C型摆动姿态不符合鲔科鱼类摆动规律的问题,采用两关节液压柔性驱动模拟鱼类S型摆动,并根据液压柔性驱动器原理设计仿生鱼的内部结构.依据理论波动方程确定机器鱼的摆动幅值,借助数值模拟计算施加在柔性驱动器内部的压强载荷大小,并分析计算液压柔性驱动器的驱动效率.应用有限元分析软件模拟仿生鱼在流体中的自主游动过程,并将两关节机器鱼与单关节机器鱼的自主巡游过程进行对比仿真,获得两种机器鱼在流体中自主巡游时的运动姿态、游动速度及流场情况.结果表明,在相同的频率与尾鳍摆幅下,两关节柔性机器鱼的巡游平均速度为0.29 BL/s(BL为鱼体体长),高于单关节机器鱼巡游平均速度0.15 BL/s,且由速度矢量图可得出两关节仿生鱼的S型摆动姿态更接近真实鱼类摆动规律,并在运动过程中会产生一系列离散的反向卡门涡街,推进效率高.     

两关节压力驱动柔性仿生机器鱼的设计与仿真

为研究设计一种柔软度高、环境适应性强的新型仿生机器鱼, 模仿鲨鱼外形及鲔科鱼类的游动姿态, 设计了一种采用液压柔性驱动结构的仿生机器鱼. 针对单关节液压驱动柔性机器鱼存在其C型摆动姿态不符合鲔科鱼类摆动规律的问题, 采用两关节液压柔性驱动模拟鱼类S型摆动, 并根据液压柔性驱动器原理设计仿生鱼的内部结构. 依据理论波动方程确定机器鱼的摆动幅值, 借助数值模拟计算施加在柔性驱动器内部的压强载荷大小, 并分析计算液压柔性驱动器的驱动效率. 应用有限元分析软件模拟仿生鱼在流体中的自主游动过程, 并将两关节机器鱼与单关节机器鱼的自主巡游过程进行对比仿真, 获得两种机器鱼在流体中自主巡游时的运动姿态、游动速度及流场情况. 结果表明, 在相同的频率与尾鳍摆幅下, 两关节柔性机器鱼的巡游平均速度为0.29 BL/s (BL为鱼体体长), 高于单关节机器鱼巡游平均速度0.15 BL/s, 且由速度矢量图可得出两关节仿生鱼的S型摆动姿态更接近真实鱼类摆动规律, 并在运动过程中会产生一系列离散的反向卡门涡街, 推进效率高.      

仿生推进装置翼盘变速运动的数值仿真与试验研究

根据水母游动原理扩展设计了一种仿生推进装置,该装置以曲柄滑块机构驱动剪式结构串联体、两端仿生合页式翼盘,实现大行程直线往复运动的仿生推进.在数值分析的基础上,根据仿生推进装置运动的特点,运用直线位移与拉压力传感器,对翼盘在水中运动时的推进力及运动位移进行测试和数据采集.考虑运动过程中翼盘速度变化,运用FLUENT软件对不同张角的翼盘产生的推进力进行数值仿真.通过仿真与试验分析,并以推进力最大化为原则,确定了翼盘最大张角为160°,推进力仿真值与实际测试值基本吻合,初步验证了所提出仿真方法准确性.     

鲤鱼尾鳍实时三维姿态测量及运动特性分析

为了实现鱼鳍三维运动特性的精确测量, 研究尾鳍的动态瞬时特性, 定量分析其连续变化过程, 建立了基于栅线投影和高速摄像的测量系统和与之对应的分析方法. 以自主游动的鲤鱼为实验对象, 将一组正弦光栅投射在其尾鳍表面, 产生包含三维信息的光栅条纹并由高速摄像机实时采集尾鳍摆动过程的序列图像; 对其中的每一帧图像作二维傅里叶变换、频谱滤波、逆傅里叶变换及三维位相展开等处理后, 重建尾鳍的瞬时三维形态, 再现尾鳍的连续运动过程; 据此测量结果分析研究尾鳍的运动特征及运动学参数. 结果表明, 鲤鱼游速为0.5L/s时, 尾鳍的摆动频率为1.42Hz; 鲤鱼巡游过程中尾鳍的主要运动为侧向摆动, 尾鳍的形状周期性地循环外展和内收, 且尾鳍上叶叶尖的平均摆幅比尾鳍下叶叶尖的平均摆幅约大15.6%.      

双凹摩擦摆隔震烟风道结构地震响应

传统烟风道板式滑动支座可减少道体热胀冷缩时的摩擦阻力,但抗震耗能能力不足,缺少变形后的复位能力,且会约束道体的转动而可能导致结构破坏.将摩擦摆隔震支座用于烟风道,可同时具有热滑移、隔震功能,允许道体在温度作用下自由转动.本文对烟风道采用双凹摩擦摆中间隔震的结构体系地震响应进行了研究,建立了横向地震作用下简化的三自由度地震响应分析模型,其中双凹摩擦摆采用三线性滞回模型,推导了一阶状态空间微分运动方程.该模型的分析结果与有限元实体模型分析结果非常接近.利用简化模型研究了不同场地类别、不同强度地震激励作用下双凹摩擦摆的恢复力特点及隔震效果,结果表明:与非隔震结构相比,双凹摩擦摆隔震的烟风道的道体反力、支架剪力均得到了控制.     

自由度对鱼类自主游动数值模拟结果的影响

采用自适应浸没边界方法,数值模拟了仿生鱼在不同自由度个数情况下的游动,对比分析了自由度个数对仿生鱼受力、能耗、推进效率以及尾涡结构的影响。研究结果表明,推进效率随着自由度个数的增加而略有降低;当仿生鱼在自主游动过程中没有侧向运动速度时,侧向受力幅值会大幅度提高。另外,当采用"六自由度模型"进行模拟时,仿生鱼很难沿直线运动,从而导致定量分析的困难。     

柔性长鳍波动推进动力学分析

以基于柔性长鳍波动推进的仿生水下机器人试验模型为背景,研究了“尼罗河魔鬼”柔性长鳍的波动推进动力学原理．首先基于鳍条正弦摆动的假设,建立了鳍面波动曲面模型,然后根据抗体理论的基本思想及修正后的流体假设分析了柔性长鳍波动的推力产生机理,并获得其动力学模型,最后通过仿真手段,得到了试验模型的仿生柔性长鳍鳍面波动引起的流体动力及力矩公式,为仿生水下机器人的动力学分析和控制系统设计提供了理论依据．     

多自由度仿生推进系统的CPG控制

为了提高航行稳定性和机动性而设计的四尾鳍组合推进水下航行器,尾鳍运动自由度众多且相互耦合,稳定且快速的控制方案对提高航行器的整体性能至关重要。本文根据尾鳍运动特点,建立了中枢模式发生器(CPG)模型,协调控制8个驱动舵机,实现巡游、倒退、偏航、俯仰等各种航行状态下尾鳍的组合运动;通过陀螺仪监测航行器的偏航角与俯仰角,形成反馈信号引入CPG模型,对尾鳍运动进行反馈控制,进一步提高了航行稳定性。     

多个柔性梁V型集群行为节能机理研究

V型排列是自然界中常见的动物(如大雁等迁徙性鸟类)集群模式, 普遍推测该模式可以有效地降低能耗, 然而目前没有研究给出相关的直接数据证据. 开展其节能机理研究有助于提升对集群自然现象的认知水平, 为集群仿生应用打下基础. 本文采用基于Fluent二次开发的数值方法求解多个柔性体?流体介质相互作用的流固耦合问题, 其中流体动力学方程采用有限体积法进行求解, 柔性体动力学控制方程通过用户自定义模块(UDF)嵌入, 并采用模态叠加法和4阶龙格库塔法求解, 流固交界面形变使用动网格技术处理. 实现了多个自推进二维柔性梁自主形成V型集群运动过程的数值模拟, 并将得到的推进性能参数(平均速度, 输入功率和效率)与单独自推进柔性体的数据进行对比. 研究发现: 该V型集群运动中不仅后排柔性梁的速度和推进效率得到提升, 领头柔性梁性能也得到大幅提升, 增幅均超过14%. 此外, 对V型集群运动的流场细节(涡量和压力云图)开展分析, 揭示了多柔性梁V型集群行为产生的原因和节能的内在机理, 特别是对领头柔性梁的节能机理进行了阐述.      

单驱动仿生机器鱼动力特性的实验研究

根据变截面悬臂梁受迫振动响应来模拟鱼体变形,并设计了单驱动仿生机器鱼,进行了机器鱼直线巡游、转弯和加速-滑行实验。由高速摄像机记录机器鱼运动过程,对序列图像进行处理,获得机器鱼动力特性。结果表明：单驱动机器鱼最大稳态速度约为1BL/s,最小转弯半径约为270mm,尾流动力特性良好;论证了摆动频率与摆幅对速度的影响以及摆幅与速度对转弯半径的影响;在加速滑行时间比率2∶1的情况下,速度值较大,进而提出了提高游动效率的方法。研究结果证明单驱动方式较传统驱动方式更合理。     

Hydrodynamics of a biologically inspired tandem flapping foil configuration

Numerical simulations have been used to analyze the effect that vortices, shed from one flapping foil, have on the thrust of another flapping foil placed directly downstream. The simulations attempt to model the dorsal–tail fin interaction observed in a swimming bluegill sunfish. The simulations have been carried out using a Cartesian grid method that allows us to simulate flows with complex moving boundaries on stationary Cartesian grids. The simulations indicate that vortex shedding from the upstream (dorsal) fin is indeed capable of increasing the thrust of the downstream (tail) fin significantly. Vortex structures shed by the upstream dorsal fin increase the effective angle-of-attack of the flow seen by the tail fin and initiate the formation of a strong leading edge stall vortex on the downstream fin. This stall vortex convects down the surface of the tail and the low pressure associated with this vortex increases the thrust on the downstream tail fin. However, this thrust augmentation is found to be quite sensitive to the phase relationship between the two flapping fins. The numerical simulations allows us to examine in detail, the underlying physical mechanism for this thrust augmentation.      

鲫鱼尾鳍的黏弹性力学性质测量

鱼类在游动过程中表现出高效率和机动灵活的特点。鱼类通过拍动鱼鳍获得动力,并对游动过程进行控制,因此鱼鳍的力学性质影响着鱼类在游动中的表现。在以往的研究中,研究者多将鱼鳍假设为弹性材料。本文通过单轴拉伸后的松弛实验测量了鲫鱼尾鳍的黏弹性力学性质。在松弛实验中,拉力随着时间的增加而逐渐减小。在实验的前100s时间内,拉力衰减至最大拉力的75%。本文采用五参数的线性黏弹性模型对松弛实验的数据进行了拟合。基于拟合得到的模型,发现在快速起动及巡游过程中,鲫鱼尾鳍的黏弹性性质能够增加鲫鱼尾鳍的表观刚度,同时在巡游过程中,由于黏性引起的能量耗散非常小。     

仿生扑翼飞行机器人翅型的研制与实验研究

模仿昆虫和小鸟飞行的扑翼飞行机器人将举升、悬停和推进功能集于一个扑翼系统,与固定翼和旋翼完全不同,因此研究只能从生物仿生开始。生物飞行的极端复杂性使得进行完整和精确的扑翼飞行分析非常复杂,因此本文在仿生学进展基础上,通过一些合适的假设和简化,建立了仿生翅运动学和空气动力学模型,并以此为基础研制了多种翅型。研制了气动力测量实验平台,对各种翅型进行了实验研究。实验结果表明,研制的翅型都能产生一定的升力,其中柔性翅具有较好的运动性能和气动性能,并且拍动频率和拍动幅度对升力有较大影响。     

Experimental investigation of the effect of chordwise flexibility on the aerodynamics of flapping wings in hovering flight

Ornithopters or mechanical birds produce aerodynamic lift and thrust through the flapping motion of their wings. Here, we use an experimental apparatus to investigate the effects of a wing's twisting stiffness on the generated thrust force and the power required at different flapping frequencies. A flapping wing system and an experimental set-up were designed to measure the unsteady aerodynamic and inertial forces, power usage and angular speed of the flapping wing motion. A data acquisition system was set-up to record important data with the appropriate sampling frequency. The aerodynamic performance of the vehicle under hovering (i.e., no wind) conditions was investigated. The lift and thrust that were produced were measured for different flapping frequencies and for various wings with different chordwise flexibilities. The results show the manner in which the elastic deformation and inertial flapping forces affect the dynamical behavior of the wing. It is shown that the generalization of the actuator disk theory is, at most, only valid for rigid wings, and for flexible wings, the power P varies by a power of about 1.0  of the thrust T. This aerodynamic information can also be used as benchmark data for unsteady flow solvers.     

Experimental investigation on aerodynamic performance of a flapping wing vehicle in forward flight

The aerodynamic performance of a flexible membrane flapping wing has been investigated here. For this purpose, a flapping-wing system and an experimental set-up were designed to measure the unsteady aerodynamic forces of the flapping wing motion. A one-component force balance was set up to record the temporal variations of aerodynamic forces. The flapping wing was studied in a large low-speed wind tunnel. The lift and thrust of this mechanism were measured for different flapping frequencies, angles of attack and for various wind tunnel velocities. Results indicate that the thrust increases with the flapping frequency. An increase in the wind tunnel speed and flow angle of attack leads to reduction in the thrust value and increases the lift component. The aerodynamic and performance parameters were nondimensionalized. Appropriate models were introduced which show its aerodynamic performance and may be used in the design process and also optimization of the flapping wing.     

Fish locomotion: kinematics and hydrodynamics of flexible foil-like fins

The fins of fishes are remarkable propulsive devices that appear at the origin of fishes about 500 million years ago and have been a key feature of fish evolutionary diversification. Most fish species possess both median (midline) dorsal, anal, and caudal fins as well as paired pectoral and pelvic fins. Fish fins are supported by jointed skeletal elements, fin rays, that in turn support a thin collagenous membrane. Muscles at the base of the fin attach to and actuate each fin ray, and fish fins thus generate their own hydrodynamic wake during locomotion, in addition to fluid motion induced by undulation of the body. In bony fishes, the jointed fin rays can be actively deformed and the fin surface can thus actively resist hydrodynamic loading. Fish fins are highly flexible, exhibit considerable deformation during locomotion, and can interact hydrodynamically during both propulsion and maneuvering. For example, the dorsal and anal fins shed a vortex wake that greatly modifies the flow environment experienced by the tail fin. New experimental kinematic and hydrodynamic data are presented for pectoral fin function in bluegill sunfish. The highly flexible sunfish pectoral fin moves in a complex manner with two leading edges, a spanwise wave of bending, and substantial changes in area through the fin beat cycle. Data from scanning particle image velocimetry (PIV) and time-resolved stereo PIV show that the pectoral fin generates thrust throughout the fin beat cycle, and that there is no time of net drag. Continuous thrust production is due to fin flexibility which enables some part of the fin to generate thrust at all times and to smooth out oscillations that might arise at the transition from outstroke to instroke during the movement cycle. Computational fluid dynamic analyses of sunfish pectoral fin function corroborate this conclusion. Future research on fish fin function will benefit considerably from close integration with studies of robotic model fins.     

A harmonic model of hydrodynamic forces produced by a flapping fin

The hydrodynamic control laws of unsteady fins inspired by swimming and flying animals are considered. A controller based on cycle-averaged forces requires a bandwidth lower than the flapping frequency, with correspondingly slow reactions to disturbances or commands in order to avoid undesirable feedback from the oscillating fins. A harmonic model of the periodic thruster forces was empirically found using a mechanical fin flapping in roll and pitch in hover, in uniform flow, and under various kinematic conditions. A multi-fin vehicle could use this model to account for the dominant non-linearities and minimize undesirable motions through coordinated control of individual fins.     

Measurement of Thrust and Lift Forces Associated With Drag of Compliant Flapping Wing for Micro Air Vehicles Using a New Test Stand Design

Compliant wing designs have the potential of improving flapping wing Micro-Air Vehicles (MAVs). Designing compliant wings requires a detailed understanding of the effect of compliance on the generation of thrust and lift forces. The low force and high-frequency measurements associated with these forces necessitated a new versatile test stand design that uses a 250 g load cell along with a rigid linear air bearing to minimize friction and the dynamic behavior of the test stand while isolating only the stationary thrust or lift force associated with drag generated by the wing. Moreover, this stand is relatively inexpensive and hence can be easily utilized by wing designers to optimize the wing compliance and shape. The frequency response of the wing is accurately resolved, along with wing compliance on the thrust and lift profiles. The effects of the thrust and lift force generated as a function of flapping frequency were also determined. A semi-empirical aerodynamic model of the thrust and lift generated by the flapping wing MAV on the new test stand was developed and used to evaluate the measurements. This model accounted for the drag force and the effects of the wing compliance. There was good correlation between the model predictions and experimental measurements. Also, the increase in average thrust due to increased wing compliance was experimentally quantified for the first time using the new test stand. Thus, our measurements for the first time reveal the detrimental influence of excessive compliance on drag forces during high frequency operation. In addition, we were also able to observe the useful effect of compliance on the generation of extra thrust at the beginning and end of upstrokes and downstrokes of the flapping motion.     

Effect of flexure on aerodynamic propulsive efficiency of flapping flexible airfoil

The aim of present study is to investigate the effect of chord-wise flexure amplitude on unsteady aerodynamic characteristics for a flapping airfoil with various combinations of Reynolds number and reduced frequency. Unsteady, viscous flows over a single flexible airfoil in plunge motion are computed using conformal hybrid meshes. The dynamic mesh technique is applied to illustrate the deformation modes of the flexible flapping airfoil. In order to investigate the influence of the flexure amplitude on the aerodynamic performance of the flapping airfoil, the present study considers eight different flexure amplitudes (a₀) ranging from 0 to 0.7 in intervals of 0.1 under conditions of Re=10⁴, reduced frequency k=2, and dimensionless plunge amplitude h₀=0.4. The computed unsteady flow fields clearly reveal the formation and evolution of a pair of leading edge vortices along the body of the flexible airfoil as it undergoes plunge motion. Thrust-indicative wake structures are generated when the flexure amplitude of the airfoil is less than 0.5 of the chord length. An enhancement in the propulsive efficiency is observed for a flapping airfoil with flexure amplitude of 0.3 of the chord length. This study also calculates the propulsive efficiency and thrust under various Reynolds numbers and reduced frequency conditions. The results indicate that the propulsive efficiency has a strong correlation with the reduced frequency. It is found that the flow conditions which yield the highest propulsive efficiency correspond to Strouhal number St of 0.255.     

A parametric investigation of the propulsion of 2D chordwise-flexible flapping wings at low Reynolds number using numerical simulations

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the effects of chordwise flexibility on flapping wings at low Reynolds number. The numerical simulations are performed with a partitioned fluid–structure interaction algorithm using artificial compressibility stabilization. The choice of the structural dimensionless parameters is based on scaling arguments and is compared against parameters used by other authors. The different regimes, namely inertia-driven and pressure-driven wing deformations, are presented along with their effects on the topology of the flow and on the performance of a heaving and pitching flapping wing in propulsion regime. It is found that pressure-driven deformations can significantly increase the thrust efficiency if a suitable amount of flexibility is used. Significant thrust increases are also observed in zero pitching amplitude cases. The effects of the second and third deformation modes on the performances of pressure-driven deformation cases are discussed. On the other hand, inertia-driven deformations generally deteriorate aerodynamic performances of flapping wings unless the behavior of the wing deformation is modified by the presence of sustainable superharmonics in a way that produces slight improvements. It is also shown that wing flexibility can act as an efficient passive pitching mechanism that allows fair thrust and better efficiency to be achieved when compared to a rigid pitching–heaving wing.